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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

University Campus Undergoing Another Major Transformation

Students at California State University Northridge are getting their share of an education into the intricacies of the construction process. There are more than $240 million worth of major capital projects underway right now on the campus. “What’s going on now is much larger, actually, than what we were doing after the Northridge earthquake,” said Colin Donahue, associate vice president of facilities development and operations for CSUN. The five major projects are: the 1,700-seat Valley Performing Arts Center; a $30 million three-building housing project; a 90,000-square-foot science building; a 1,500-stall parking structure; and a hydrogen fuel cell satellite plant. These are all infill projects, making for some real challenges for the general contractors. For example, the University Village apartment project is being constructed not just smack dab in the middle of a college campus but is tightly sandwiched between fully-occupied dormitories. That has caused the construction schedule to be restricted to the hours between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.; most construction sites run between 6:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Aside from that, “We’ve been really well accepted here,” said Mike Runza, project manager for Bernards Construction. “We’ve had virtually no theft and virtually no complaints from the students in the surrounding building.” In addition to the big-ticket items, there are a myriad of smaller projects. A second floor addition was constructed within the Matador Bookstore complex this summer and the orange grove on campus was revitalized and improved. Approximately 90 minor capital projects were also initiated including improvements to existing athletic facilities, approximately 50 “smart classroom” conversions were completed 88 percent of classrooms now have instruction audio/visual systems; and upgrades to lectures and lab spaces across the campus. <!– Hydrogen Fuel Cell Satellite Plant –> Hydrogen Fuel Cell Satellite Plant Although none of the projects CSUN has been doing are LEED certified, Donahue said they are actually even more energy efficient than they would be had they gotten that certification. The Cal State system has initiated a program called the CSU Program for Environmental Responsibility, or CSUPER. The state of California, said Donahue, is way ahead of LEED on energy efficiency thanks in part to California’s Title 24 energy code. All of the CSUN projects under construction exceed Title 24 by more than 20 percent. “We don’t look at buildings on an individual basis (like LEED does),” said Donahue. “We look at it on a systemwide and campus basis throughout the whole CSU system.” The CSUN campus is already 15 percent below the target set by AB32 (the Global Warming Solutions Act) for them to reach in 2020. And the efficiency standards do not have any leeway for growth, so, Donahue said, “we had to get very efficient in our building systems.” All new buildings have reflective roofs and fully automated, digital climate controls. Temperature in every building is controlled from the central plant. They’re also using 3-D modeling software to produce higher efficiency. “Looking at the mechanical, electrical, plumbing and structural systems and how they’re integrated from day one may help us make the building smaller and thus maximize the square footage,” said Donahue. But by far the most futuristic element of CSUN’s current construction program is the hydrogen fuel cell satellite plant. Not only is it generating power to run the campus, the carbon dioxide it generates will be diverted to an on-site rain forest and to adjacent biology greenhouses. “The hydrogen fuel cell will run at about 80 percent efficiency,” said Donahue. “The power we buy now is typically about 35 percent efficient, so we’re cutting our carbon footprint.”

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